by Tony Corden
“So, let it learn rather than giving it everything.”
“Yep, just like my parents did with me. I had to work for what I wanted, no freebies. I do suggest you purchase some things online. I bought a virtual screen to do research with, and you should find some clothes to wear otherwise when you enter a world, you do so completely naked. Time works differently. If you enter now and work for three hours, only one hour of real time has elapsed. You said you wanted to help me online. If that is still true, then join the game Cosmos Online and choose Berne as your starting place. I’m going to do some work and will be there just after eight am real time. When we meet, I can get you started with some training.”
Jen said, “John said you spend a lot of time in the Pod, how often will he be free?”
“That’s up to him. I get two hours sleep a day, but because it is in the Pod, I get all I need. With the time compression, I can spend almost sixty hours a day working or playing online. John is free to spend as much or little of that time in the Pod as he likes. If you don’t see him as much as you need to, let me know, and we’ll gang up on him.”
“I will, that’s my only worry. I don’t want to lose him to that world.”
“You can always join him if you want. I know you did enough at school to go to college. I’m kind of surprised you never got an AI.”
“I wanted to, but my parents knew too many kids who’d disappeared, and they convinced me not to. John’s explained what happened and I’ll talk to my parents, maybe I’ll take you up on that some time.”
They talked for a little longer, and then John and Jen headed for his room to organise his first experience in the virtual worlds. Leah headed back inside and had Gèng give her an hour deep sleep before she logged in to Cosmos Online to meet John. As soon as she arrived, she hurried to the section of the station’s causeway where she had arrived. She was waiting when he stepped out of the setup and onto the causeway.
He said, “Leah, this is amazing, and it is so real.”
“I know, amazing, right! Now would you like some time to enjoy it, maybe walk around or do a quest or would you like to get to work?”
“I’m here to work but imagine I’ll enjoy it anyway.”
“So, come with me, and I’ll get you some armour and some different weapons, and then I’ll show you the school and arrange for some training on the mechanised armour and weapons. Maybe some pilot training as well.”
An hour later and John was suited in armour similar to Leah’s and booked into the school. Leah said, “I’ll leave you here and go get some other things organised. Have your AI contact me if you need anything. Is there anything else you need?”
“No, this will do for now. Maybe later I’ll arrange for some archery lessons and maybe some more self-defence lessons.”
Leah left John to begin his training and headed for the hotel to log out. She had a quick snack before heading back to Dunyanin to deal with the Ticareti House of Horror.
She arrived in her bedroom and wandered down the stairs. Everyone was ready. One of the servants agreed to drive the carriage and they all bundled in for the fifteen-minute ride to the Patriarch’s estate. At three forty-five they were all standing outside the gates of the estate. At three fifty, twelve hours after Leah had left the Patriarch a sign appeared on the gate.
Zack stepped forward and read it aloud, “Enter at your own risk. Trespassers will be killed. By order of the Patriarch of Ticareti.”
Leah, Wisp and Rana formed a group, and with a smile at the others, Leah said, “Meet you guys out the other side. May the best group win.”
Amy said, “Even if we don’t we’ll still see you on the other side.”
Leah lightly punched her on the arm and said, “Let’s go.”
She placed her hand on the gate and stepped into the estate with Wisp and Rana. Immediately a message appeared
Level 4 Dungeon Achievement: First 1 (7, Diamond)
Atherleah, you have discovered a dungeon:
Ticareti House of Horror
You are the first player to access this area. This is your seventh, 'First 1 (Diamond)' achievement.
Reward 1: 5000 x 230 = 2852000 (+148%) Experience Points (950000/950000) … (395651/980000)
Reward 2: + 3% to all future Experience
Reward 3: 7 x 10 Platinum = 70 Platinum
Reward 4: Increased probability of valuable drop. Luck is increased by 7.5 whenever you are in this Formicary. During your first time in the Formicary, the probability of all drops is increased to 0.5.
Fame: 1000 Fame Points (126205)
A Commemorative Plaque has been placed in your bag.
Note: This achievement will be published on the Dunyanin achievement forum. Do you wish to retain your privacy?
[Y] [N]
“Yes.”
They took a step, and another message appeared
This dungeon is recommended for groups of at least four members.
MOBs will be at a level that matches your group range plus five. The final boss at least ten levels higher than your highest member. Currently, this means ordinary MOBs will be between Level 144 and Level 238 in this dungeon.
Do you wish to continue? Note if you choose [N] you will be returned to your resurrection location with no loss of experience.
[Y] [N]
Wisp said, “Level 238, I guess I forgot how many levels higher than me you were these days. I’ll focus on the lower level MOBs, and you deal with the heavy hitters.”
As they began to move toward the house, Rana was suddenly attacked from above by an enormous bat which Leah identified as a Level 226 Vampire Bat. It raked Rana’s back and tried to bite her. Wisp fired a fire-bolt at it. It screeched and leapt toward her only to be sliced in two by Leah’s swords. Rana had lost almost twenty percent of her health, which Leah healed. Leah moved forward and cast Echolocation only to find that it seemed to attract bats to them. They slowly made their way to the house and had to defeat not only bats but also other forest creatures turned into vampires of sorts; there were vampire wolves, bears and squirrels.
As this was the first level of the dungeon nothing was really beyond them and although Leah had to rescue Wisp a few times they reached the front of the house without much difficulty. Standing in the yard in front of the mansion were four vampires which Leah identified as
VAMPIRE BEASTMASTER (Level 145) 21025 (7250EP)
VAMPIRE BEASTMASTER (Level 225) 50625 (11250EP)
VAMPIRE BEASTMASTER (Level 238) 56644 (11900EP)
VAMPIRE BEASTMASTER (Level 238) 56644 (11900EP)
As they approached the beastmasters, the beastmasters began to call animals to attack Leah, Rana and Wisp. Animals materialised from the air, one from each beastmaster. As each animal was killed, the beastmaster called another. Leah noticed the beastmasters were not losing any health. She equipped the bow and shot one of the beastmasters who immediately lost health. The three had to defeat the animals and also find time to attack the beastmasters. Leah said, “Everyone focus your attacks on one of the higher level Bosses.”
When one of the Level 238 Beastmasters reached 50% health, he began to call two animals at a time. Leah had been trying to give them all a chance to work together and had not been using her powerful attacks. However, she was getting tired, so she cast Chain Lightning at one the highest Level beastmasters, and as it leapt to the other three, she teleported behind him and drove a knife into his brain and then turned to the second but found Rana had already dispatched him. They finished a third and then kept the animals off Wisp while she used her sword to kill the last beastmaster.
Wisp said, “What took you so long?”
“I thought we needed to learn each other's styles before it got harder.”
“Nope. You go for it. If you can kill everything before I take a step, you do it. I want to beat the other team and not come second. Deal?”
“OK, Deal.”
Leah had been harvesting the animals as they went along and she did the same t
o the three vampires. Besides the various vials of blood, fangs and pelts she also found the front door key, some copper coins minted by the Ticareti Patriarch and labelled the ‘Ticareti House of Horror”, and a spell for controlling beasts. After a quick search, they found a small treasure box which yielded another beast spell, more coins and a map of the house.
Leah checked the map and realised they had to move through the house, clearing each of the three floors and then out the back and through the maze. The centre of the maze now contained a mausoleum where the Patriarch was waiting. Opening the front door, they entered the house and were immediately attacked by a swarm of ghouls. Each room had a swarm, and each swarm consisted between eight and twelve ghouls who used their claws and fangs to attack. The ghouls were fast and extremely agile. Finally, the three cleared the rooms and found a large swarm waiting at the bottom of the staircase. This was controlled by a massive Level 235 Ghoul.
The upper level of the mansion was filled with Zombies. As the first one saw them, it screeched and rushed toward Wisp. The screech brought all the Zombies from the floor rushing toward the three of them. With no time to recover between fights the three only succeeded because Wisp had used a Phoenix potion and resurrected and Leah had used her once-a-day double cast Ki Lightning. Finally, they completed the upper level and were ready to head for the basement.
As they walked down the stairs vampire rats attacked from holes in the walls, each room consisted of different devices used for torture, they were attacked by vampires who had lost their sanity and become filled with blood-lust. In travelling between rooms, they had to evade traps which exploded, poisoned or dropped away. The boss of the house was a Level 240 Vampire Guard protected by a swarm of ghouls, a swarm of zombies and a swarm of the blood-crazed vampires. It was at this level that Leah learned the skill of Partial Misting. She was surrounded by three vampires who all attacked at the same time. She realised she couldn’t evade all three and as one grabbed her arm, she Misted the arm, almost without thought, at the same time as using the Haladie to remove the head of another.
After they finished the level, she asked Rana if this was something most Vampires could do and Rana said, “I have heard of it being possible for some of the most powerful. It requires the brain to be able to consider two actions at the same time. I am not surprised that you can as you wield two swords independently of each other; it is the same principle. I cannot do this although I have tried. Perhaps you can teach me.”
A search of the basement provided the group with not only the key to the Mausoleum but also a cache of silver coins. Together they headed for the maze. After the house, the maze was almost anticlimactic. It was filled with Vampire Sentinels who misted out of hedges and attacked at random. The slight delay in achieving the corporeal form gave enough warning for even Wisp to dispatch the high-level vampires. On reaching the centre of the maze, they found eight sentinels already visible and controlled by a Captain. Although the fight took time, there was never much doubt as to the outcome. The Captain provided some gold coin, and a search of the maze revealed a chest which Leah kept and decided to open when they finished the Mausoleum.
The mausoleum seemed larger on the inside and required the three to evade and destroy roving groups of vampire guardians. Each fight was difficult, but the three had learned to depend on each other, and while Leah still caused the most damage Rana had learned several new ways to fight and was able to defeat Guardians with levels higher than hers. Wisp focussed on the lower level guardians but her growing personal skills meant she rarely needed to be saved, even from guardians with higher levels than her. Leah could probably have defeated her opponents with only her sword, but she had taken to heart Wisp’s desire to finish first, and she threw all her spells and weapons into the mix and literally demolished her opponents.
Finally, they defeated the last guardian and walked toward the centre which contained a large coffin. As they approached, the lid opened and the Patriarch emerged. He said, “So, half-breed, you have defeated my warriors. Be assured they are only a tithe of all I have. Even if you defeat me, this house will remain to continue the fight for all true vampires.”
Leah said, “Lord Silas, your prejudice is the blight on all vampires. Now, let’s get this over with.”
Silas called out, “Protect!”
Four guardians stepped forward and attacked Leah and the others. She teleported past them and attacked the Patriarch, who was ready for her. They both used swords, and she discovered that he also could mist only a part of his body and in that way protect himself from harm. After time, they began to get tired and make mistakes. When Silas reached 75% health he called out “Protect!” and another four guardians appeared. Leah left these for Wisp and Rana and continued to attack Silas. She could tell when all the guardians were killed as an arrow thudded into Silas and his health dropped to 50%. The fight continued the same way until at 25% Silas called out, “Release!”
Suddenly small grates swung open around the edge of the Mausoleum, and four swarms of low-level feral crazed vampires rushed into the room. As Leah turned to deal with them, she saw Silas leap toward Wisp. She changed direction and arrived just as he cut Wisp’s head from her body. She knew it was a game but she lost her composure for a moment and literally tore Silas apart with claws that extruded almost thirty centimetres from each hand. In an uncontrolled rage, she moved through the swarms tearing them apart. Finally, she came to rest and found Rana staring at her from the far side of the room. Rana said, “Sister, they are all dead. Return.”
Leah shook her head, and slowly the claws retracted. She checked her statistics and though her health was good, her Stamina, Mana and Ki were all low and blinking red. She swallowed and said, “Sorry, I’m not sure what happened.”
Leah shook her head and then, together with Rana, she checked the Mausoleum for treasure and then looted the bodies.
You have opened a hidden chest:
6 Platinum Coins minted with an image of the Patriarch of Ticareti.
3 Silver throwing knives
4 Vials of Vampire Antivenin*
* Note: When ingested it protects against being changed by Vampires, effect 24 hours.
You have opened a hidden chest:
3 Diamond Coins minted with an image of the Patriarch of Ticareti.
3 Platinum Coins minted with an image of the Patriarch of Ticareti.
3 Gold Coins minted with an image of the Patriarch of Ticareti.
3 Silver Coins minted with an image of the Patriarch of Ticareti.
3 Copper Coins minted with an image of the Patriarch of Ticareti.
1 List of the Vampire Clans
4 Bags of Human Blood AB-*
* Note: This is stored blood for use by the Patriarch in case he was desperate to feed.
You have harvested:
3 Diamond Coins minted with an image of the Patriarch of Ticareti.
1 Set of Patriarch Fangs
1 Patriarch Sword of
1 Spell of Blood Magic - ‘Boil’
4 Bags of Human Blood O+*
2 Vials of Vampire Blood - Type HUD0+ **
* Note: This is stored blood for use by the Patriarch in case he was desperate to feed.
** Note: A rare ingredient used by Healers, Alchemists and Necromancers.
After checking everything she saw the message
Level 4 Dungeon Achievement: First 1 (8, Diamond)
Atherleah, you have completed a dungeon:
Ticareti House of Horror
You are the first player to complete this area. This is your eighth, 'First 1 (Diamond)' achievement.
Reward 1: 5000 x 236 = 2961800 (+151%) Experience Points (1010000/1010000) … (547040/1040000)
Reward 2: + 3% to all future Experience
Reward 3: 8 x 10 Platinum = 80 Platinum
Fame: 1000 Fame Points (132705)
A Commemorative Plaque has been placed in your bag.
Note: This achievement will be published on the Dunyanin achievem
ent forum. Do you wish to retain your privacy?
[Y] [N]
“Yes.”
Leah and Rana faded from view and appeared at the resurrection point in the centre of Ticareti. Wisp was standing there and stepped forward and hugged Leah. She said, “That was not a fun experience, but as a part of the group I got the achievement.”
Leah said, “How come you're here already? I thought resurrection took a few hours.”
“I keep forgetting you haven’t died yet. The few hours is if you’re hunting or if a PKer gets you. If you’re in a dungeon, you resurrect immediately.”
“Fair enough I suppose, that way you don't disadvantage your group too much. Have you seen the others?”
“No. I imagine they won’t be long. We finished that in six hours, why don’t we sit near here and keep an eye out for them?”
They took a seat at a nearby restaurant and ate some breakfast and discussed the dungeon while they waited for the others. They had to wait two hours before the others arrived. The four of them looked despondent. They had been swarmed while doing the second floor and all been killed by the zombies. They had started again and reached the Patriarch the second time. They'd been killed by the sudden swarms when he hit twenty-five percent health. They all needed a break but were determined to return after a short break and see if they could defeat the dungeon.
As they walked back to the clan house, Leah sidled up beside Thad and grabbed his hand. He looked down and gave a small grin and said, “If you’re trying to cheer me up, it’s working.”
Leah said, “Nope. I just thought that I’ve missed you and if you’re going to be my boyfriend then I should let you know I missed you.”
“Your boyfriend, huh, so that would make you my girlfriend.”
“Well, it had better. I hope you don’t just kiss a girl and expect her to think you are ‘just friends.’”
“You’re right. I wouldn’t do that. If I’m honest, I have been thinking of you as my girlfriend. I just haven’t wanted to rush anything and scare you off.”
“I don’t scare easy. But I do need to take things slowly. My life is super busy, and I need time to work through my feelings. You are the first boy I’ve ever liked this way, and it’s taking a while. I imagine it’s easier for you because you’re older and you've probably had a girlfriend before.”